The present invention relates to moldings for use on vehicles such as automobiles.
1. Field of the Invention
It is common to attach a side molding to the body panels of a motor vehicle, in particular the doors and fenders, to act as a protective strip. These moldings may be purely functional in that they absorb small impacts from other vehicles or they may be partially decorative. Conventionally, the moldings include a trim plate that is connected to the panel of the vehicle and a rub strip that covers at least a portion of the trim plate. The rub strip is usually resilient so that it may absorb impacts from other vehicles' doors or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The rub strip is normally attached to the trim plate with adhesive or with mechanical clips. The use of adhesive can be time-consuming and can also make replacement of the strips difficult, particularly if they inadvertently become detached.
Mechanical clips, on the other hand, are more secure but tend to be relatively expensive and time-consuming to assemble.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a body molding in which the above disadvantages are obviated or mitigated.
According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body side molding comprising a trim plate for placement against a vehicle body panel and a rub strip extending over at least a portion of the trim plate on a side opposite to the body panel. The trim plate has a plurality of apertures formed therein and receiving a respective one of a plurality of tabs integrally formed with the rub strip. The tabs extend from an abutment surface formed on said rub strip and engageable with said trim plate adjacent to respective ones of said apertures to limit movement of said rub strip toward said plate and locking means acting between the tab and the aperture to secure said rub strip to said trim plate.